Improvement in wheel-plows



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. swALLoW, or HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND.

iMPROVE ME'NT IN WHEEL-FLOWS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 106,294, dated August 9. 1870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. SWALLOW, of

Hager stown, in the county of Washington and State of Maryland, have invented an Improvement in Wheel-Plows5 and do'hereby declare that .the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the carries it. Fig. 2 is a vertical elevation, showing the mechanism for raising the plow, and also that of raising one end of the axle. Fig. 3 is a detached view of the mechanism for raising and lowering the end of the axle; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the axle, showing the sliding point upon which it moves up and down. Corresponding letters refer to corresponding parts in the several figures.

In plows of this class, as heretofore construct ed, it has been common to make the wheels of different diameters, so that, when being used for plowing, one could run in the furrow and the other upon the surface of the ground, and yet have the axle of the carriage in a horizontal plane. This form of construction has been found to he very objectionable, because, when so constructed, great inconvenience has been experienced plowing the first furrow and in moving the machine from one field or place to another. This invention is designed'to remedy the ob- V jection above referred to; and to this end it consists in combining with the axle of the carriage a slide for the purpose of elevating one end of such axle above the other, or, in other words, for'droppin g one wheel below the other;

and it further consists in providing a vertical;

slot or guide in the axle, in which the beam of the plow moves, and by which it is guided; and it further consists in the arrangement of the pole of the carriage, and in the combination and arrangement of the parts connected therewith,

as will be more fully described hereinafter.

A in the drawingsrefers to the wheels of the carriage, they being, in this case, of equal diameter.

B refers to the pole, which is attached to the center of the axle, and is secured in position by rods and braces, in the manner shown, or in any suitable manner, it being provided with a cross-bar, B, to which the double-tree is attached.

(3 refers to a plow, which may be of any approved pattern, it being provided with a beam,

(J, a guide device or attachment, 0 for governing the width of the furrow to be turned, and also a chain for connecting it to the tongue or pole of the carriage, and for driving the plow when in the ground.

I) refers to a seat, upon which the driver sits when the machine is in motion, it bei g attached to a curved spring, the opposite end of such spring being attached to the axle.

The above-recited parts form no part of. my

present invention, and consequently need not be more particularly described here.

The numeral 1 in the drawings refers to the axle of the carriage, which is ot'novel construction, it being provided at. or aside from the center with a vertical slot, in which the beam of Such slot is, by v preference, made of metal, with flanges upon the plow moves up and down.

its outer sides, to which the sections of the axle are to be secured in such a manner as to cause the parts to form one axle; The object of this slot is, first, to provide for the vertical movement of the plow and its beam, and alsoto serve as a guide to control the lateral or side movements of thesarne. In practiceI place this slotted guide to one side of the center of the axle.

At the end ofthe axle nearest the wheel which runs upon the surface of the ground there is fixed a socket, 3,wh ich embraces flanges formed on the arm of the axle which enters the wheel,

such arm having a horizontalportion upon which the wheel revolves and a vertical portion for working in the socket.

with those formed upon the gear 4, so that as l the same is moved by means of the lever 5 the wheel will be raised orlowered with reference to the axle, so that, one of the wheels running upon the surface of the ground and the other in the This socket has a vertical slot in it and upon its upper end a will prevent the position of the lever being changed, when, by letting go of the'upper end .of the dog, the spring will carry the lower end is what is termed a bell cranklever,itslower arm extending out from the lower end of the upper one at, or nearly at, a right angle thereto.

To the outer end of this short arm there is attached a chain or rod, which extends to and is connected with the beam of the plow, in order that, as the upper arm of lever 7 is thrown forward, the plow may be raised from the ground, and, by allowing the dog to enter one of the notches in socket 2, held in an elevated position while being transported from place to place.

The numeral 9 refers to a rod, the rear end of which is attached to the mold-board of the plow, or to the frame to which such mold-board is secured, from which point it extends to and is connected with a bolt which secures the double-tree to the tongue or pole.-

It will be observed that the plow is drawn entirely by the rod above alluded to, so that, in whatever position the front end of the beam may be, the draft is always centraloand in a straight l ne.

It will also be observed that the double-tree is arranged below the tongue or pole, which is regarded as of great importance, as it has a tendency to raise up the forward end of such pole, and thus relieve the necks of the horses from its weight and downward pressure.

The numeral 10 refers to a staple, which passes through the beam of the plow at a point near where it is attached to the mold-board and guide forward upon the vertical slotted guide 2, its ottice being to guide and steady the rear end of the plow.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United. States, is

l. The axle 1 ofa sulky-plow, having aguide box or slot, 2, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. t

2. The arrangement, in a sulky-plow, of the axle 1, guide-box 2, socket 3, -having a quadrant upon its upper portion, lever 5, sliding arm 3, segmental gear 4, draft-rod 9, and segmentally-slotted guide substantially as herein shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 'name to this specification, in the presence of two attestingwitnesses, at Hagerstown, in the county of Washington and State of Maryland, this 16th dayof May, 1870.

- JOHN E. SWALLOW.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. HOWE, WILLIAM BIERSBRING. 

